A lot has taken place in Albany this past week. The legislative session closed with a frenzy of activity on June 21. Here are updates of what has happened in the sportsmen’s arena. The major legislative issues we looked at in the first half of 2012 :

Microstamping

Assembly bill A1175B passed by a vote of 85-60. While this is not good news, there are some good things to report about it. First, if you follow this attempt at passing this lousy piece of legislation, you will note that each time it passes the Assembly, less and less votes are PRO-microstamping. This is a sure sign that our legislators in the Assembly are seeing the light that this is a useless, costly, back-door approach at removing more guns from lawful owners. One day the Assembly will vote it down! The good news is, in my conversation with Senator Seward’s Chief of Staff, Duncan Davie, he reiterated to me that the Senate will not even let this bill get out of committee. So, we should not just sit back on this, we must be vigilant and keep a watchful eye on this anti-gun legislation.

Crossbows

Although it was not what we were pushing for, A10583A and S7705A have passed the Assembly and Senate and now go on to Gov. Cuomo for signing. The NY Crossbow Coalition was opposed to these bills in their original form due to the language that eliminated early bear and muzzleloading seasons, and worse yet, the youth pheasant and waterfowl hunts. The amended versions will allow for the continued use of crossbows for big game during the firearms and late muzzleloading seasons only through 2014.

Since NYCC was not able to get the Ryan bill (A9682) to the floor, there is value in having the current crossbow bill extended and not having it expire. One of the problems in Albany is if the current law expires, then there is no current standing to work from. We would need to begin from scratch and all the hard work and momentum we achieved this year could be lost.

I have heard from numerous members from both parties, in both houses that they plan on bringing this back in the 2013 legislative session and not wait until 2014. Many that voted in favor of this bill did so to keep the crossbow alive, not because they believe it is in the seasons where it belongs. Please, before you confront any legislator on this issue, ask why they voted as they did and what their position is on future crossbow legislation. I was asked by several what stance to take, and I explained to them that “we should not vote for this bill as it was originally drafted.”

Conservation Fund